SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The thesis is concerned with the relations between the Vaishnava devotional movement and the caste order in Assam. The first part is a village study in which caste is analysed with reference to economic differentiation, kinship, affinity and food transactions within the context of local sectarian organization. The second part examines the nature of the caste process in historical perspective and discusses both the traditional institutions and beliefs of the sect and the impact upon these institutions of the new reform movements which have arisen since the 1930s. The object of the thesis is to describe the beliefs and practices of one regional variant of the many devotional sects based on the teachings of the Bhagavata Purana with specific reference to its complex and changing relations with the caste order.